Method for producing finished articles directly from material blanks



w. F. cousmo 2,787,828 OD FOR PRODUCING FINISHED ARTICLES DIRECTLY FROM MATERIAL BLANKS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 H T E i 5 w m 9 w .1 e! g 1 m I. d r 6. m i A F April '9, 1957 w. F. cousmo 2,787,828

FOR PROD NG FIN HED A ICLES METHOD DIRECTLY F MATER BLAN Filed Aug. 28, 1951 2 Sheets-She'et 2 Z6 ffi-E- g; 8 NE OR.

United States Patent METHOD FOR PRODUCING FINISHED ARTICLES DIRECTLY FROM MATERIAL BLANKS Walter F. Cousino, Toledo, ()hio, assignor to Ex Corporation, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application August 28, 1951, Serial No. 243,968 4 Claims. (Cl. 29-553 of'operating dies to squeeze a mate'rialblank into a finished article. I 7

Another object offthis inventionis to provide 'a method of operating dies to squeeze a material. blank into a finished article of the typehaving a main body with in tegral extensions therefrom. I

Another object of this invention is toprovide a process of converting material blanks int'ovfinished articles by a novel die operation, whereby. such articles are quickly.

and economically produced in quantitiesen'd which embody shapes not readily produced by the heretofore known die operations. a i

Other objects and advantages of this invention relating to the arrangement, operation and function of the related elements of the structure, to various details of construction, to combinationsof parts and to economies of manufacture, will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of'the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views. a

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hydraulic type press adapted to employ the method-herein disclosed;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a finished article of the type capable of production hereunder; N

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, parts being broken away, of a modified form of the device illustrated in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic showing of the operating mechanism embodied in the machine'jof Fig. l;

\ Fig. 5 is a vertical section throughTa-set of forming dies for use in the machine or Fig.7 1, showing the dies at rest or in their initial position in the, cycle of method operation; I; .Q 1

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig.'5,-"showing the'die's in partially closed position, a subsequent step in the method; Fig. 7 is a view similar toFig. 5,showing the dies in still a subsequent step which is fullyjclosed position;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 5, showing the dies returned to their'initial position and illustrating a method of ejecting the finished articles therefrom;

Fig. 9 is a view on the line IX -IX, Fig. 5; Fig. 10 is a view on the line XX, Fig. 6; and

Fig. 11 is a view on the line'XI'XI, Fig. 7. I

Power presses of various typ es rnaybe adapted teem ploy the method herein 'and for illustrative purposes, press 10 is herein shown (Fig. l) asone of the hydraulic types. This press is equipped with an auxiliary frame 12 for mounting turret 14,,w h ich in turn supports a series of die carrying rings 16, herein rfor convenience vided to rotate the turret step-by-step to axially align the rings 16 in succession beneath plunger-die 20. V

The rings 16 are interchangeable as are the die parts seated therein. These die parts are segments of a com- 7 plete die structure. The rings 16 are each provided with a downwardly and inwardly tapered seat 22 and herein shown, the dies form an inverted frustum, each die composed of three segments 24 although the number thereof is determined by the shape of the article to be produced therein. These die parts 24 are keyed to the rings 16 to circumferentially hold the same seated therein and the outer faces of these parts-24 have faces complementary to the taper of the seats 22. This provides a collet-like construction which allows the die segments to separate when adjacent the top of the ring and forces the parts 24 together as they are depressed into the rings 16. e

The die segments 24 have cooperating major shaping faces 26 and their parting surfaces 28 are intaglio treated to provide minor shaping faces 30."

In operation, as the turret is turned'to place a set of dies below the plunger 20, a feeding device 32 at the preceding station delivers a heated slug or blank 34 into the central or major cavity 36 defined by the faces 26. Themalleability of this blank may be determined by the degree of temperature imparted'thereto at the feed-.

ing station. The blanks 34 can be severed portions of bar or rod stockof selected metals, plastics or the like and deposited in bulk into hopper 38 to be fed, one at a time, by the feeding mechanism 32 into the endless series of die pockets.

After the blank 34- is dropped into the cavity 36, it is held therein in alignment to be acted upon by the plunger 20 when advanced to the forming station 44 The turret progression and plunger operation may be controlled by an operator or automatically driven by suitable mechanism built into the press 10.

A typical article which is particularly adapted to be formed by the process herein is illustrated in Fig. 2. It includes a main or parent body portion 42 of generally torpedo-head shape, with a plurality of fins 44 radially extending therefrom. These fins 44 may have an aerofoil cross-sectional shape either horizontally or vertically therethrough. The piece 42 can also be pressed to fin ished form including. a seat 46 therein which provides a means for attaching the piece to some structure of which it is to become a part thereof;

In that the piece herein shown as an example includes three fins or wings 44, the die parts 24 are three in number, but it is obvious should a difierent number of external projections be desired, the number and design of the die parts 24 would be adjusted and altered accordy- The pellet or blank 34 having been deposited within the cavity 36, it is now ready to be shaped. It is well to note here, that the mass volume of the blank is predetermined to equal the mass volume of the finished article 42 including the parentbody and the integral extensions.

The die segments 24 are separated at this initial forming station providing substantial clearances 48 between their parting faces 28. In other words, the die is partially open.

The plunger 26 is caused to descend and coins or more aptly, shapes the blank to conform to the walls 26 of the central cavity. The plunger 20 may terminally carry an extension 50 to form the s eat '46. 'The excess material from the parent or body portion-42 is exuded or squeezed into the radially extending clear-ways 48 The roughly finished body with such number of rough fin's52extending therefrom as there are clear-waysbetween the die parts.

As the pressure of the plunger 20 continues, the die parts 24 are wedged together in their descent into seat 22 of the ring 16 and the minor die faces close together and shape the extrusions 52 to finished form. This collet-like construction is completely closed so that the article shaped therein conforms to the die faces 26, 30.

The piece is then ready for ejection from the mold. To this end plunger 54 which has a tapered terminus 56 engages seat 58, formed in the lower faces of the die elements 24 and power from cylinder 53 pushes the die parts upwardly within their respective rings to their separated or charge receiving positions. The key connections 60 separate the die elements and loosen the same from the formed article.

Pressureair from jet 62 can be directed downwardly through one of the clear-ways .48 and the finished article will be blown from the dies (Fig. 8). This blast as well as the operation of the release plunger 54 may be automatically controlled by means of mechanism 64 built into the press and suitably adjusted.

Reviewing this cold coining program, the blank 34 is fed into the cavity 36 while the mold is partially open. The plunger 20 compresses the blank to shape the body portion 42 and causes a flow of the material into the radial ways 48, and the continued pressure of the plunger forces a wedge closing of the mold segments which shape the fins 44. The fins may be shaped to have an aerofoil crosssectional shape which has heretofore been difficult to obtain without machine operations such as cutting and grindmg.

The formed articles made hereunder need no additional treatment for all practical purposes and even inspections are unnecessary as the articles meet very close tolerances.

The feeding mechanism 38 may have its hopper and delivery tube incorporate heating elements 66 for preheating the blanks 34 and a valve v (Fig. 4) conveniently located for an operator to initiate the cycle of operations or close off the operations if necessary.

A modified form of article is illustrated in Fig. 3 wherein the terminal 68 of plunger 20 may be a separate piece having the extension 50 ribbed or knurled as shown, so that the terminal 68 is firmly attached to the body 42 during the molding operation and becomes a part of the finished item.

It is to be understood that the above detailed description of the present invention is intended to disclose an embodiment thereof to. those skilled in the art, but that the invention is not to be construed as limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings; since the invention is capable of being practiced and carried out in various ways without departing from the spirit of the invention. The language used in the specification relating to the operation and function of the elements of the invention is employed for purposes of description and not of limitation, and it is not intended to limit the scope of the following claims beyond the requirements of the prior art.

What is claimed and desired to secure by United States Letters Patent:

1. A method of cold coining a solid blank of material to form an article having a body portion with integral extensions therefrom comprising the steps of supporting a cylindrical blank in a generally vertical position by applying radial pressure to circumferentially spaced portions of the blank while simultaneously applying a vertical pressure to one end of .the blank in addition to said radial pressure to exude a substantial portion of the blank radially outwardly between said spaced portions and to form an article having a semi-finished body with a plurality of thick rough extensions extending radially therefrom, and continuing the application of said radial and vertical pressures while simultaneously compressing said extensions by applying metal. deforming: pressure laterally against the opposite radially extending sidefacesof each radial extension in a direction to move said side faces toward each other to reduce the thickness of each radial extension a substantial amount at the base thereof and at any given distance from the center of said body and to shape the article to the desiredform.

2. A method of cold coining'a solid blank of material to forman article having a major body portion with one or more integral extensions therefrom comprising the steps of depositing said blank into a central cavity surrounded by a plurality of die parts having downwardly tapered surfaces supporting the blank solely by said die parts while simultaneously pressing said blank axially to slide the same in the direction in which said die surfaces taper, moving the die parts radially inwardly during sliding movement of the blank to exude a substantial portion of the blank radially outwardly between adjacent parting faces of the die parts and to form a rough radial extension, and continuing radial inward movement of the die parts duringthe application of axial pressure to the blank while reducing'the distance between adjacent die parts to reduce the thickness of said radial extension substantially and to shape said body portion.

3. A method of cold coining a solid blank of material comprising placing said blank between a series of circumferentially spaced die segments, compressing said blank by applying pressure to said segments and said blank to form an article'having a semi-finished body portion androughradial fins extending radially outwardly from said body portion between adjacent parting faces of said die parts, and sliding the article a substantial distance axially over said dicparts while simultaneously moving the die parts radially inwardly to reduce the circumferential spacing between the die parts so that the thickness of said fins is substantially reduced and said body portion is compressed to the desired shape.

4. .A method of cold coining a solid blank of material to form an article having a body portion with integral extensions therefrom comprising the steps of supporting a cylindrical blank by applying radial deforming pressure to circumferentially spaced portions of the blank to squeeze the blank while simultaneously applying an axial deforming pressure to the central portion of the blank to form a central recess in the blank and to exude a substantial portion of the blank radially outwardly between said spaced portions so as to form a semi-finished recessed body with a plurality of thick radially extending rough extensions, and squeezing the radial extensions laterally to reduce their thickness while. simultaneously extruding said radialextensions to'shape the edge portions of said extensions to final form.

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